FedExCup history: Bubble busters

The FedExCup Playoffs features a progressive cut, with the field size reduced as the Playoffs moves through its four events. A total of 125 players make the Playoffs following the conclusion of the Wyndham Championship, the final event of the PGA TOUR season, but just 30 advance to the final Playoffs event, the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola, with the FedExCup champion crowned at the conclusion of that event.

One of the interesting elements of the FedExCup Playoffs is the opportunity for players to "bust the bubble" and play their way into the next event after starting outside the cut line.

In the six-year history of the FedExCup, no player has made the TOUR Championship after starting the Wyndham Championship outside the Playoffs cut line. The furthest any player has gone since 2009 (new point structure) is Ernie Els in 2011. Els entered the Wyndham ranked 126th in points and went on to finish 67th.

Entering the 2009 Barclays, Heath Slocum ranked 124th in points. His victory at Liberty National vaulted him 121 spots to third and secured a spot at the TOUR Championship. That bubble-busting move is the largest in the six-year history of the Playoffs. Slocum and Justin Rose remain the only bubble busters who also won the tournaments they played (Rose at the 2011 BMW Championship).

Here's a historical look at those players who have busted the bubble at the Wyndham and the first three Playoffs events. Included is the player's FedExCup rank entering the event, his tournament finish, his rank after the event and his final FedExCup position that year.

WYNDHAM CHAMPIONSHIP

Below is the list of players who entered the Wyndham Championship outside the cut line to make the Playoffs but managed to play their way into the playoffs with a high finish at Wyndham. Note:Cut line to make the Playoffs since 2009 has been the top 125 in points; cut line to make the Playoffs in 2007-2008 was top 144 in points.

Year

Entering Wyndham

Player

Tourney finish

After Wyndham

Final FEC rank

2013

No players advanced

2012

128th

Heath Slocum

T-31

124th

124th

2011

130th

Padraig Harrington

T-47

124th

89th

127th

William McGirt

T-52

125th

83rd

126th

Ernie Els

T-30

118th

67th

2010

140th

Scott Piercy

T-8

125th

125th

2009

136th

Jeff Maggert

T-13

123rd

125th

133rd

Kevin Stadler

T-2

76th

95th

129th

Chris Riley

T-13

119th

103rd

128th

Todd Hamilton

T-24

121st

123rd

126th

David Mathis

T-17

118th

122nd

2008

177th

J.J. Henry

T-4

135th

92nd

166th

Rich Beem

3

114th

111th

164th

Martin Laird

T-4

128th

67th

154th

Lee Janzen

T-15

144th

119th

153rd

Justin Bolli

T-15

141st

101st

2007

165th

Jeff Overton

T-2

109th

111th

162nd

Shigeki Maruyama

T-7

140th

140th

151st

Anders Hansen

T-11

137th

137th

THE BARCLAYS

Below is the list of players who entered The Barclays outside the cut line but managed to play their way into the next event, the Deutsche Bank Championship, with a high finish. Note:Cut line to make the Deutsche Bank Championship since 2009 has been the top 100 in points; cut line to make the Deutsche Bank Championship in 2007-2008 was top 120 in points.

Year

Entering Barclays

Player

Tourney finish

After Barclays

Final FEC rank

2013

103rd

Martin Kaymer

T-50

90th

84th

110th

Camilo Villegas

T-54

100th

82nd

117th

Erik Compton

T-43

94th

99th

122nd

Greg Chalmers

T-37

93rd

97th

123rd

Stuart Appleby

T-41

96th

95th

2012

113th

Jason Day

T-24

88th

87th

108th

David Hearn

T-10

67th

68th

103rd

Bob Estes

T-10

62nd

58th

102nd

Tommy Gainey

T-38

91st

94th

101st

Jonas Blixt

T-46

97th

71st

106th

Graham DeLaet

T-5

44th

53rd

2011

125th

William McGirt

T-24

96th

83rd

124th

Padraig Harrington

T-13

80th

89th

118th

Ernie Els

T-32

99th

67th

114th

Ian Poulter

T-18

78th

87th

109th

Camilo Villegas

T-6

51st

33rd

106th

Chris Stroud

T-18

75th

61st

104th

John Merrick

T-43

98th

100th

103rd

Bill Lunde

T-32

85th

85th

2010

115th

Andres Romero

T-52

100th

69th

114th

Troy Matteson

T-36

88th

91st

112th

Tiger Woods

T-12

65th

42nd

108th

J.P. Hayes

T-27

76th

83rd

107th

Ryuji Imada

T-27

73rd

78th

102nd

Kevin Streelman

T-3

18th

25th

2009

125th

Troy Matteson

T-20

83rd

78th

124th

Heath Slocum

Winner

3rd

8th

108th

Richard S. Johnson

T-31

85th

91st

107th

Fredrik Jacobson

T-6

48th

57th

2008

144th

Lee Janzen

T-48

119th

119th

143rd

Glen Day

T-24

111th

116th

142nd

Jeff Overton

T-38

115th

99th

141st

Justin Bolli

T-48

116th

101st

139th

Jesper Parnevik

T-24

105th

89th

136th

Frank Lickliter II

64

112th

97th

135th

J.J. Henry

T-55

110th

92nd

134th

Michael Allen

T-65

108th

90th

133rd

Tim Herron

T-24

99th

53rd

132nd

Ryan Palmer

T-62

106th

94th

131st

Angel Cabrera

T-19

93rd

65th

128th

Martin Laird

T-7

67th

67th

127th

Jason Day

T-31

96th

83rd

126th

Tim Petrovic

T-38

97th

82nd

122nd

Richard S. Johnson

T-68

95th

77th

2007

134th

Rich Beem

T-7

113th

110th

121st

Doug LaBelle II

T-41

120th

120th

DEUTSCHE BANK CHAMPIONSHIP

Below is the list of players who entered the Deutsche Bank Championship outside the cut line but managed to play their way into the next event, the BMW Championship, with a high finish. Note:Cut line to make the BMW Championship since 2007 has been the top 70 in points.

Year

Entering D-Bank

Player

Tourney finish

After D-Bank

Final FEC rank

2013

73rd

Nicholas Thompson

T-22

59th

60th

75th

Kevin Stadler

T-4

32nd

33rd

76th

Marc Leishman

T-16

58th

59th

77th

Ian Poulter

T-9

52nd

53rd

80th

Brian Davis

8th

49th

47th

89th

Brendan Steele

T-20

69th

70th

91st

Ernie Els

T-20

70th

68th

2012

83rd

Jeff Overton

T-7

40th

44th

93rd

Bryce Molder

9

45th

65th

72nd

D.A. Points

T-20

54th

63rd

78th

Troy Matteson

T-20

59th

45th

75th

Matt Every

T-35

63rd

67th

81st

Chris Kirk

T-35

66th

49th

71st

Charl Schwartzel

T-47

68th

61st

86th

Charley Hoffman

T-26

69th

69th

96th

Dicky Pride

T-20

70th

70th

2011

72nd

Andres Romero

T-31

59th

66th

73rd

Chad Campbell

T-21

58th

59th

75th

Chris Stroud

T-42

70th

61st

81st

Blake Adams

T-10

57th

64th

87th

Chez Reavie

2

9th

10th

88th

Johnson Wagner

T-25

67th

70th

91st

Geoff Ogilvy

T-25

69th

24th

99th

Ernie Els

T-16

68th

67th

2010

100th

Andres Romero

T-11

68th

69th

92nd

Tom Gillis

T-5

48th

43rd

86th

Vijay Singh

T-11

63rd

57th

81st

Jason Dufner

T-18

65th

65th

2009

93rd

Marc Leishman

T-15

67th

20th

87th

Stephen Ames

T-23

63rd

55th

82nd

Jeff Overton

T-23

61st

67th

81st

Jason Bohn

T-32

69th

68th

75th

Woody Austin

T-36

68th

65th

74th

Bryce Molder

T-36

66th

64th

72nd

Bubba Watson

T-32

59th

53rd

71st

Sergio Garcia

26

55th

39th

2008

99th

Tim Herron

T-5

48th

53rd

93rd

Angel Cabrera

T-15

70th

65th

92nd

Ben Crane

T-10

57th

59th

79th

Heath Slocum

T-15

56th

61st

78th

Johnson Wagner

T-15

55th

60th

77th

Charley Hoffman

T-33

66th

68th

75th

Tommy Armour II

T-82

69th

62nd

74th

Fredrik Jacobson

T-67

65th

44th

73rd

Aaron Baddeley

T-73

64th

43rd

72nd

Eric Axley

T-82

63rd

63rd

2007

No player advanced

BMW CHAMPIONSHIP

Below is the list of players who entered the BMW Championship outside the cut line but managed to play their way into the final Playoffs event, the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola, with a high finish. Note:Cut line to make the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola in since 2007 has been the top 30 in points.